Here are the top 10 tips to build a successful career:
- Build a successful CV
- Set goals
- Reflect on your progress
- Positive mindset
- Work on your weaknesses
- Build strong relationships
- Learn from a mentor
- Time management
- Make the right career choice
- Study towards a qualification
A successful career can open many job opportunities for your future. This is because having a successful career will offer you higher-paying job positions and improve your quality of life as well as personal growth. By applying these tips to your career, you will be well on your way to a successful future.
Build A Successful CV
Your CV is the first impression an employer will have of you. This means that you will have to impress them without actually meeting them in person. Here are some top tips on how you can improve your CV:
- Write a short but strong summary of your skills and accomplishments. Employers do not want to spend time reading long paragraphs when they have many CVs to work through
- List the experiences and education which is most relevant to the job you are applying for and what will be most impressive to the employer
- Be honest. Only list qualifications and work experiences you have done, and be honest about your accomplishments
- Do not leave gaps in your CV. Make sure you always list what type of activities (volunteering, studying, etc.) you were busy with to avoid suspicion
What Are The Main Areas You Should Add In Your CV?
These are the main areas you should add to your CV:
- Contact information
- Personal profile
- Work experience
- Education
- Achievements and awards
- Your hobbies and interests
Set Goals
You need to set goals for yourself in your career and make sure you meet these goals in a specific time frame. This will help track your progress and make you more motivated to complete future goals. A great goal-setting strategy would be the SMART method:
- S – Specific
- M – Measurable
- A – Achievable
- R – Relevant
- T – Time-bound
How Do You Set SMART Goals?
You set SMART goals by first deciding what you want to achieve with this process. You must be committed to achieving this goal, no matter how many hurdles you have to overcome.
Set goals that will motivate you, and cross out each step of the SMART process when you complete it. This way you will feel like you are making progress and have a sense of achievement.
Reflect On Your Progress
Reflecting on your performance is an important part of building a successful career. If you keep a journal, then you can see how your job performance has improved or declined over time. When you notice where you have gone wrong, you can create a plan to overcome this struggle.
You can identify the gap between where you are and where you want to be by reflecting on your previous work. Reflecting on your progress will also give you a sense of purpose, especially when you have reached the goals you set out for yourself.
Positive Mindset
This is an important part of advancing in your career. By thinking positively, you will see the possibilities in any situation. By having negative thoughts, you will be held back from creating a successful career.
Furthermore, by having a positive mindset, you will see failures as a chance to learn. You will be driven to do better the next time you attempt your goals and achieve better results. Having a positive mindset is key to staying motivated and ambitious.
Work On Your Weaknesses
After you have identified what your weaknesses are, you will have to find ways to overcome these weaknesses. Here are some methods on how you can do this:
- Accept the fact that you have a weakness and do not try to deny it. This is the most important part before starting to work on a weakness
- Remove yourself from your comfort zone. This will challenge you to tackle this weakness and overcome it
- Set goals you want to complete until you overcome this weakness. Taking it one step at a time is more beneficial than overcoming it all at once
- Take your time. Set a timeframe that is realistic to overcome your weaknesses. All great things were not done in a single day
Build Strong Relationships
Building strong relationships in your career will help you gain the support you need to further your job. You will be exposed to new opportunities and these relationships can give you the positive boost you need to get where you want to be.
It is also important to surround yourself with like-minded people. By surrounding yourself with positive people, you will adopt a positive mindset as well. Only focus on the people who encourage you and who want to grow with you.
Learn From A Mentor
Mentors are people who are already professionals in a specific career field, and learning from them will contribute to your professional success. Mentors already know the ups and downs and how to overcome certain obstacles in their careers.
By having a mentor, you will have someone as a role model and a person you can ask for any type of advice. They can help you develop new skills and gain knowledge you can use in your career plan.
Time Management
Here is a list of tips on how you can effectively manage your time to ensure you reach the goals you have set out for yourself to do:
- Task the most important tasks first on your list before the others
- Take a break between tasks to avoid a burn-out
- Set a time limit for each task which it needs to be completed in
- Make sure you plan your schedule ahead of time
- Focus on one task at a time
- Reward yourself when you completed a challenging task
Make The Right Career Choice
Choosing the right career is an important decision to make because you will be investing a lot of your time in this field. Here is a five-step career decision-making process that can help you make the right choice which will suit you best:
- Self-assessment
- Identify and research options
- Evaluate and prioritize
- Take action and try options
- Reflect and re-evaluate
Study Towards A Qualification
Studying a course will be beneficial to building a successful career. This is because you will acquire the necessary knowledge to gain a promotion in your occupation or start a new job.
At Bellview Institution of Distance Learning, we offer many courses that focus on specific jobs, as well as basic skills. Any knowledge you gain from these courses can directly be applied to your career. Here are the courses we offer:
What NATED Courses Do We Offer, And What Are The Entry Requirements?
Bellview offers a wide range of NATED courses that you can pursue. These include:
NATED Business Management Diploma Course
- Business Management: NATED N4 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Matric Certificate - Business management: NATED N5 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Business management: NATED N4 National Certificate - Business management: NATED N6 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Business management: NATED N5 National Certificate - Business management: NATED N6 National Diploma
Entry requirements: Business management: NATED N6 National Certificate
NATED Financial Management Diploma Courses
- Financial Management: NATED N4 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Matric Certificate - Financial Management: NATED N5 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Financial Management: NATED N4 National Certificate - Financial Management: NATED N6 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Financial Management: NATED N5 National Certificate - Financial Management: NATED N6 National Diploma
Entry requirements: Financial Management: NATED N6 National Certificate
NATED Human Resource Management Diploma Courses
- Human Resource Management: NATED N4 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Matric Certificate - Human Resource Management: NATED N5 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Human Resource Management: NATED N4 National Certificate - Human Resource Management: NATED N6 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Human Resource Management: NATED N5 National Certificate - Human Resource Management: NATED N6 National Diploma
Entry requirements: Human Resource Management: NATED N6 National Certificate
NATED Legal Secretary Diploma Courses
- Legal Secretary: NATED N4 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Matric Certificate - Legal Secretary: NATED N5 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Legal Secretary: NATED N4 National Certificate - Legal Secretary: NATED N6 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Legal Secretary: NATED N5 National Certificate - Legal Secretary: NATED N6 National Diploma
Entry requirements: Legal Secretary: NATED N6 National Certificate
NATED Management Assistant Diploma Courses
- Management Assistant: NATED N4 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Matric Certificate - Management Assistant: NATED N5 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Management Assistant: NATED N4 National Certificate - Management Assistant: NATED N6 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Management Assistant: NATED N5 National Certificate - Management Assistant: NATED N6 National Diploma
Entry requirements: Management Assistant: NATED N6 National Certificate
NATED Marketing Management Diploma Courses
- Marketing Management: NATED N4 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Matric Certificate - Marketing Management: NATED N5 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Marketing Management: NATED N4 National Certificate - Marketing Management: NATED N6 National Certificate
Entry requirements: Marketing Management: NATED N5 National Certificate - Marketing Management: NATED N6 National Diploma
Entry requirements: Marketing Management: NATED N6 National Certificate
What ICB Courses Do We Offer, And What Are The Entry Requirements?
We offer a range of ICB courses to kick-start your career in business and finance.
ICB Business Management courses
- Small Business Financial Management: ICB National Certificate
Entry requirements: Grade 11 OR Grade 11 Equivalent OR Bookkeeping: ICB National Certificate - Office Administration – Business Management: ICB Higher Certificate
Entry requirements: Small Business Financial Management: ICB National Certificate - Financial Accounting – Business Management: ICB National Diploma
Entry requirements: Office Administration – Business Management: ICB Higher Certificate
ICB Bookkeeping and Accounting courses
- Bookkeeping: ICB National Certificate
Entry requirements: Grade 10 or equivalent - Bookkeeping: ICB FET Certificate
Entry requirements: Bookkeeping: ICB National Certificate - Technical Financial Accounting: ICB National Diploma
Entry requirements: Bookkeeping: ICB FET Certificate - Certified Financial Accounting: ICB National Diploma
Entry requirements: Technical Financial Accounting: ICB National Diploma
ICB Office Administration courses
- Office Administration: ICB National Certificate
Entry requirements: Matric Programme or Matric Equivalent Certificate - Office Administration: ICB Higher Certificate
Entry requirements: Office Administration: ICB National Certificate - Office Administration: ICB National Diploma
Entry requirements: Office Administration: ICB Higher Certificate
What Matric Programmes Do We Offer?
We offer three different Matric programmes, namely:
- Adult Matric: Amended Senior Certificate
Entry requirements: At least a Grade 9 school report - Matric Upgrade: Amended Senior Certificate
Entry requirements: A failed Matric Certificate or one that needs to be improved - Matric Rewrite: Amended Senior Certificate
Entry requirements: A failed Matric Certificate or one that needs to be improved
What Are The Five Relationships You Need To Build A Successful Career?
These are the five relationships you need to build a successful career:
- Learn from a mentor
- Make sure you have a sponsor who will advocate for you
- Have a partner to help you achieve success
- A competitor to give you the motivation to improve your skills
- Be a mentor to teach others how to be successful
Frequently Asked Questions
The best careers to be successful would be in one of these categories:
- Management
- Law
- Healthcare
- Technology
Studying a qualification in one of these fields will ensure you have a successful career. Consider studying one of our Business Management Courses or Legal Secretary Courses.
This could be because you are not aware of the areas in your career you lack in. By first identifying what your weaknesses are, you can construct a plan on how you can target these weaknesses. Then you will start seeing positive changes in your career.
You can be successful in any career. You must first decide which career path you are interested in. For example, you can do an online assessment, which will help with identifying what possible career paths you can pursue based on your personality and goals.
By first identifying which career you want to pursue, then you can start thinking about starting a course which will give you the knowledge and skills to start your career.
These are the goals you have set out for you to achieve within your workplace or your professional life. This can be anything from applying for a new job or being granted a promotion to another job position.
Yes, you can. At Bellview Institution of Distance Learning, we offer a variety of courses where you do not need a Matric Certificate to start studying. We have set many students on their way to a successful career without the concern of having a Matric Certificate.
The time it takes to build a career with a qualification depends on the type of course and your career goals. It can take anywhere from 6 months to a few years to complete your studies, gain experience, and move into stable employment. Short courses may lead to quicker job entry, while advanced diplomas offer long-term growth.
Author: Esmari Pool
Editor: Connor Bergsma
Date Published: August 26, 2022